


You, Me and the Voodoo Makes Three

by ElySunday



Category: Klaroline - Fandom, Klaus Mikaelson - Fandom, The Vampire Diaries (TV), caroline forbes - Fandom
Genre: Adventure, Angst, F/M, Klaroline, Multi, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-24
Updated: 2016-02-26
Packaged: 2018-05-22 12:56:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6080229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElySunday/pseuds/ElySunday
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been six months since Caroline told Klaus to leave and never come back. It's been six months since he promised to honor that promise. It's been six months of Caroline figuring out what she wants out of life, besides Klaus. It's been six months since Silas was defeated and Bonnie has lost her magic. </p><p>When a small, mysterious coven offers to help, Bonnie and Caroline set out for a small parish right outside of New Orleans. Things quickly take a dark turn when Bonnie is MIA and there are strange attacks on the vampires of New Orleans. Caroline must now come face to face with a certain hybrid she hasn't seen in months.</p><p>Voodoo, vampires & werewolves-alliances and relationships will be tested as Caroline & the Original Hybrid must help save her best friend and possibly the entire vampire species.</p><p>(This story is not a cross-over, but I love the Original family so I've included them as much as possible. This work is a Klaroline fanfic at heart. It's part 2 of a series I have going (unnamed currently) but this could definitely be a stand alone since most of the major issues from the first story are mentioned throughout.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. prologue

New Orleans, 1995

The young woman ran hard and fast toward the banks of the Mississippi River, knowing that if she could make it there, she could get across to the other side. The storm earlier that afternoon had settled and the currents had slowed. She willed her legs to move faster.

"Come out, come out, little witch! We can smell you out here, and you know we 'gon find you, cher!"

The familiar Cajun term of endearment was offset by the brutish tone coming from the vampire. Raucous laughter rang out through the wooded marshy area, the celebratory sound of the hunting party was the death toll for the young woman. 

The group of nightwalkers could have easily caught her by now, but they preferred the seriously antiquated method of pillaging the native covens, seeking them out with burning torches and all. Subsequently, their methods of torture and theatrics were working in the witch's favor, for the time being at least.

Pumping her legs harder, she made it to the soft, silt banks of the river. She could hear the continued threatening shouts from the woods behind her, gaining on her. She looked down at the still peacefully sleeping toddler, even through all the commotion, wrapped to her chest with a linen shawl. She wouldn't have time to get them both across, she realized. Not alive anyway. And as it was, only one of them needed to survive.

"There she is! Witch!" The crowd broke from the tree line and was now rushing toward her. 

Across the river, the lights and sounds of the French Quarter were alight and energetic. Nobody would have ever noticed, nor suspected anything out of the ordinary, the scene taking place just across the watery divide. The torch light mirroring the city lights, the shouts like any other group who had had one, or five, too many drinks stumbling their way home in the early hours before dawn.

The witch heard the pounding footfalls on the soft earth closer now, and with one final spell, created a foxhole in the ground near the banks, placing her child gently inside. 

"You stay quiet now, shoushou," she whispered softly, her voice tremulous and thick with unshed tears, spelling the hole with a cloaking spell.

As she knelt beside the hole, she felt a sharp rock puncture the skin on her knee. The pain barely registered, though, and neither did the water on the shore running red with her blood. She stood hastily, feet slipping and sliding on the uneven, soft surface of the bank.

"There you are, little witch," The leader, the witch supposed, of the small pack of vampires stepped forward now.

Three, she counted three vampires. It had seemed like so many more when she had set off blindly into the woods in the near dawn hours. She felt a sudden surge of relief that the number of predators was far less than she had imagined. She stood and faced the group of bloodsuckers, chin held high and resolved. The leader leered. The witch spat on the ground before them.

"You been making the gris-gris around here, and we here to put a stop to it," The two other hunters stepped forward to flank the sides of the leader now. "Mellette Thibodeaux, you have been convicted of witchcraft inside the city limits. Your sentence is death."

A towering man, he stood well over six feet tall, stared upon the witch with a devilish glint in his eyes. The two beside him hollered and cheered, as the witch backed up toward the waters' edge.

"You 'gon go swimmin' with the mudbugs, witch?" The leader cackled, eliciting laughter from the rest of the vampires.

She turned and jumped into the river, hearing their laughing from behind her as she treaded the dark water. She knew she wouldn't have long before they came after her, but she swam harder, wanting to get as far from her child as possible, knowing the spell would only hold out as long as she did.


	2. i

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'll save most of my notes for the end of the chapter. For now, if you're coming in on this after reading Real or Not Real (posted on fan fiction.net) welcome back and thanks for sticking with me! If you're a new reader, welcome and thanks for reading! I think this story might be ok as a stand-alone, but it wouldn't hurt to read RONR just for kicks first if you haven't already.

_Present Day, 2016_

Niklaus Mikaelson stood looking out his bedroom window. The floor-to-ceiling windows were open, allowing the warm, balmy air to permeate the room. It was going to be a stifling day in New Orleans, but the city-she was majestic even in the early morning hours.

The Original family had bought up an entire city block in a neighborhood just across the Mississippi river from the French Quarter. They had renovated a historical mansion into an expansive three wing compound set back from the road behind tall iron fretwork gates, much to Rebekah's very vocal dismay. She had wanted to be on the French Quarter, in a loft or townhouse in the center of the daily, and especially nightly, commotion. It had taken a lot of yelling from the hybrid, and a lot of coercing from Elijah to finally convince her that their family needed some seclusion from the city; privacy for their more clandestine affairs.

_{"I feel like Scarlett O'Hara! Perhaps I'll make my garments from the drapes in the parlor, too?" Rebekah said as she literally swooned onto the chaise lounge in the solar._

_"Rebekah, please, it really isn't as bad as you're making it out. Your flair for the dramatics paints it as though we are living in one of those Spanish moss covered swamps. The liveliest part of the city is just across the river!" Elijah tried to placate their younger sister as he poured three glasses of brandy at the bar._

_"Yes, perhaps you should go for a nice swim, sister! Preferably to the East side, it's deeper on that end." Klaus, however, was never in the mood to placate his sister. He was still cool toward her, even after she had proven she was sorry over the past several months for threatening Caroline's life._

_Rebekah scowled and stomped out of the room, leaving her brothers in the wake of her melodramatic rage._

_"She just needs something to complain about. Truly, she is perfectly happy here, Niklaus." Elijah said noting his brother's annoyed glare._

_"Oh, I know. Though her happiness is not really on my list of priorities. I put aside my better judgment to put her in a box for a few centuries so that our family could be together here even after the stunts she pulled back in Mystic Falls. She could at least show some gratefulness."_

_Elijah merely nodded; knowing nothing he could say would sway his brother's mood one way or another. Even though their family unit continued to have their daily disagreements, their being there together in New Orleans had proven to be the right decision for the trio of Originals.}_

Although Klaus had a view of the entire city from his third-floor suite, his thoughts weren't on the antiquated beauty of the city before him. His thoughts were in Mystic Falls, or more particularly, on a certain blonde vampire there.

It had been six months since he had left Caroline in his art studio with only the promise that he would stay away, stay out of her life. And it had been six months of feeling completely incomplete.

He had his city back after hundreds of years, he had his family back, too, and yet the place in his heart where Caroline resided felt like an arid wasteland. In fact, he doubted he even had a heart anymore sometimes since he had left Caroline. It was she, after all, who made him realize that he still had a heart after all his years of feeling utterly alone. Perhaps without the young, vivacious blonde vampire, he did not, in fact, have one- because perhaps she was his heart. And she was gone.

"Admiring your kingdom again, Niklaus?"

Klaus smiled faintly and turned from the window, thankful for the break in his ceaseless, depressing thoughts. Elijah approached and handed him a tumbler of bourbon.

"Our kingdom, brother," Klaus said raising his glass in a toast before draining the contents in one swallow.

Elijah smiled and sipped his drink.

"No, he's thinking about her again. I can always tell from his melancholic stance and those tragic sighs," Rebekah said from the doorway, her voice bored and flippant.

Klaus squeezed his eyes shut in and his nostrils flared in exasperation at his younger sister. "Bekah-"

"Don't worry, Nik. I was just coming to inform you that Melly and I were just leaving to go to town. You can go back to your brooding," Rebekah turned to leave, her compelled friend, following closely. Although it wasn't without notice that her friend, Melly Babineaux, let her gaze linger for a few seconds too long on the Original Hybrid. When he looked up, she gave him a coy smile and shrugged, tossing a glance at the Original sister, but Klaus merely turned without response.

Melly was always throwing looks his way, trying to catch his eye, even attempting to engage him in conversation from time to time. Klaus wanted no part of it, finding her simpering repulsive, so he simply ignored her. Still, she was persistent.

"Adieu, Nik, cher," she called, her raspy native Cajun accent heavy even in just the short statement. "Elijah."

Elijah had watched the exchange take place before him, and offering a courteous nod, Melly retreated from the room. When the two had finally made their way downstairs and outside, Elijah released a small laugh.

"The poor girl seems to be quite taken with you," He said glancing at Klaus.

"Yes, the poor girl, indeed," Klaus said with a smirk as he refilled his glass with more of the warm amber liquid.

"Where did Rebekah say she met her?" Elijah asked, looking out the window, watching his sister and her pet driving down the long tree-shaded drive toward the bridge into town. His question was casual, but there was no mistaking his obvious suspicious undertone.

"Off the river somewhere?" Klaus asked facetiously. "I don't really know. I tend to tune our sister out quite regularly," he said, utterly disinterested in the topic.

His sister had brought random people home over the years, people who had turned into her little compelled projects and playthings. Usually they would do something to anger her, at which point she would either kill them or send them off on some task in which they would never return.

Elijah chuckled softly again. Setting his glass down on the bureau, he sat in the wingback chair near the window. Crossing his legs and clasping his hands together he seemed to be deliberating something.

"Have you considered going to her, brother?" He asked tentatively.

Klaus flinched slightly at the reference to his beloved. He turned from his brother and spoke quietly, sternly, "No. I made a promise, and I keep my word." He paused briefly before adding, "I do have Eyes on her, though, of course."

Elijah ran a finger over his brow, ducking his head to hide a smirk. "Of course." After a long beat he decided to change subjects, lest he send his brother into one of his foul moods. "So, what is on the agenda today?"

Klaus grinned and looked out the window. The sun was streaming through the feathery cloud cover, the sky the softest shade of blue. For the first time since he had gone to sleep last night, his thoughts strayed just far enough away from Caroline to consider the city, the vast opportunity it held for him and his family, in which they now called home.

* * *

 

"Hybrid alert, two o'clock," Bonnie said from behind her menu at the Grill.

After hearing the first word several times in the last six months, Caroline had grown to understand that it was not her hybrid, but one of the sired spies of Klaus'. Ones he had undoubtedly sent to watch over her. She had had a few false alarms in the beginning. Someone would utter the word hybrid and she would feel her anxiety rise and look around madly for Klaus, but it was never him. Sighing and glancing to her right, she took note of the scruffy looking young man that was unmistakably Hybrid.

"Ugh, that's so creepy. It's like supernatural paparazzi," Elena said with a not so small amount of disgust, but shot her friend an apologetic glance. Apologetic in the sense that she knew how hard it was for Caroline to deal with seeing traces of Klaus on occasion, and not actually seeing him.

"Yeah, hey, Caroline, maybe you should flash him. That would give him something worth reporting back to their Master Klaus," Bonnie laughed, but catching Elena's eye she looked sheepish. She looked back to Caroline now, "Sorry…"

Caroline looked at her two friends sternly. "Guys, I said it didn't bother me. You can say his name. You can talk about him. I'm fine."

"But Caroline, you never talk about him. You never say his name," Elena said, her voice tinged with concern.

Caroline bit the inside of her cheek. "No, but…that's just personal preference at this point," she shrugged. "I can say his name. Klaus. There, I said it. Klaus. And I can talk about him: Klaus left. Klaus is gone and he doesn't need me. And I miss him. And I love him still." Caroline smiled and nodded to her friends. "See! I can talk about Klaus all damn day," she said sounding very glib.

Her two friends exchanged another glance. It was difficult for them to see Caroline in this state of denial.

"Care, why don't you call him? Or, he's old, he might like a handwritten letter," Elena said with a nervous giggle.

Caroline smiled faintly and thought back to Rebekah's letter, which she had tucked away in her vanity drawer under all of Klaus' drawings. She shook her head. "No. The time isn't right for us. I don't know when it ever will be, but he's got his life in New Orleans, and I've got my life here with you guys!" She struggled to sound perky, but it fell flat even to her own ears.

Bonnie and Elena had been supportive of Caroline and her feelings toward the Original. Though Bonnie didn't really understand how she had come to even have feelings for the Original, or how the Original's feelings had evolved beyond his near immediate obsession with her friend. But, she loved her friend and trusted her judgment-or at least supported it.

Elena, on the other hand, understood completely- after she had gotten over her initial shock of their relationship, and especially after Klaus hadn't tried to somehow use the cure and herself to make more of his hybrids. There was no denying that she related well to the draw Caroline had toward the bad boy with the heart of gold- the heart Caroline was positively insisted existed within the Original Hybrid, even if the others had yet to see any hint of this so-called heart.

Surprisingly, Damon had been one of the most supportive of her and Klaus. Of course, he explained that he had known from the beginning, even before Caroline herself, that Klaus' advances toward the young vampire weren't completely one-sided; upon Caroline's protestations, defending the fact that she didn't have feelings for the Hybrid until they had bonded in Chicago, Damon merely smirked knowingly. He hadn't even put up much of a fuss when she'd proposed the idea of their girls' trip, thus taking Elena out of his sights for some time. For that, Caroline had been grateful, and her own ill feelings toward the older Salvatore dwindled substantially.

With the whole Silas mess last summer, the girls had missed the cutoff for starting fall classes at Whitmore. Deciding that they hadn't wanted to start in the spring semester, they took off on a whirlwind vacation together after Thanksgiving, road tripping all around the country. They all made a pact not to mention Silas, Klaus, Jeremy-this trip was purely an escape. No boys allowed. They had stayed in dive motels, in luxurious hotels, even a five-star RV at one point in the middle of Nowhere, Texas. There were two places Caroline had vehemently requested they steer clear of: Chicago and New Orleans. Her two friends obliged without question, and the trio had the adventure of a lifetime together all packed into a few months.

Along with Caroline's need for a change of scenery, Bonnie had been grateful to have some distance between herself and Jeremy. He was still distant toward her after everything that had happened, and no amount of graveling had helped. It wasn't like she didn't have anything else to worry about, though. She was still struggling with not having her magic back. Since returning from their trip, she had been researching various covens that could help her. Doing a few simple spells, her magic seemed to still be there somewhere, except that it wasn't. Now that they had returned to Mystic Falls, she was already planning on a trip of her own to visit one of these covens, though she wasn't ready to impart the location of this particular coven to her friends just yet.

"Well, I've got to meet Damon. He and I have to…uh, we have to…"Elena stammered, shaking her head at a loss for words. And she was avoiding direct eye contact with her friends.

"Ew, gross. Go! Go make-out with your boyfriend," Caroline said swatting her with her menu. Bonnie laughed at her friend's shift in mood, and Elena laughed, too, relieved Caroline was still in good spirits after they had brought up the Original. 

"Sleepover tonight? My place?" The brunette vampire looked at her friends expectantly, the familiar bubbly smile plastered across her face, standing behind her chair.

"'Lena, we just spent the last three months together!" Caroline said. Noting her friends exchange a look, she narrowed her eyes, eliciting two mirrored expressions of contrition. "You two don't have to keep constant watch over me. I said I'm fine, and I meant it. I promised my mom we would have a movie marathon tonight anyway."

"Ok, well, I'll call you later," Elena said.

At Caroline's exasperated sigh she quickly added, "To talk! You're fine, I know! Just to talk!" She held up her hands in mock surrender as she backed away quickly, dodging another swat from her blonde friend.

Caroline rolled her eyes and looked down at the menu again, clearly a diversionary tactic as they had already ordered and eaten half an hour ago. Feeling Bonnie's eyes, without looking up she said, "I can feel you staring, Bonnie."

Bonnie chewed her lower lip. "Care, you can tell me anything. You know that, right?"

"Bonnie!" Caroline sighed. "Really-"

"Caroline Forbes, I have known you since we were in pigtails. You're putting up a front. I see it. Elena sees it. Your mom doesn't understand it, but she sees it, too. Why won't you talk about it?"

Looking up finally, the blonde vampire set her menu down primly. "Because there's nothing to talk about. I told you that I missed him, that I love him. But, the timing is wrong, and-"

"Timing, Caroline?" Bonnie asked doubtfully, her eyes searching as if the real reason were written plainly on Caroline's forehead.

"Yeah, he has things to handle in New Orleans, and I have…"

Bonnie arched a brow. "Timing isn't an excuse. Look at Elena and Damon. Their timing was awful, but they got through it. So did Stefan."

Caroline considered her friend's words for a moment. The truth was, and this part Caroline hadn't broached to her friends or mother yet, that she was afraid if she did go to Klaus like she wanted to, she wouldn't return. His life was in New Orleans, and hers was here for now-but she would give it up to be with him given the chance. But, the thought of leaving everyone, everything in Mystic Falls wasn't something she was ready for yet. She had things she wanted to accomplish in her life, too: college eventually, a career, traveling outside of the continental U.S.

"I know, but it's complicated," Caroline offered lamely and averted her eyes, looking anywhere except her friend's discerning gaze.

Bonnie sighed and rolled her eyes. She could relate to complicated.

"I know what you mean," she said, spinning her glass on the table.

"Jeremy still being a jerk?" Caroline hedged hesitantly, feeling her friend's hurt over the topic coming off her in tidal waves. Bonnie, though, had been more vocal about her estranged relationship with Elena's younger brother than Caroline had about Klaus, and she was grateful for the spotlight being off her own male drama for the moment. Bonnie and Jeremy were a safer topic, relatively speaking, in Caroline's mind.

"He's not being a jerk," Bonnie answered immediately, shaking her head. "Well, yeah, he is. But, he has every right to be, I guess," she sighed. "I just thought that after all this time he would at least be talking to me. It's like he just shut the door on our relationship, on our friendship."

"He'll come around, Bonnie. He-we- thought you died. A few times," Caroline paused briefly to let that fact sink in. Of course, Bonnie felt awful still for having put her friends through so much heartbreak, but everyone else besides Jeremy seemed to have moved past it. "He just needs time to come to terms with everything- in his own time. He loves you, Bonnie. Imagine how he felt when-"

"I have, Caroline!" Bonnie exclaimed, louder than she intended. A couple of the other diners seated outside turned to look at the duo now with curious glances. She straightened her shoulders and met her friend's surprised, wide eyes. "I mean, I haven't just imagined it. I _saw_ it, his grief, I saw everyone's grief from over on the Other Side." Bonnie looked away toward the street. Caroline was blunt, but she was right. If the situation were reversed, she wasn't sure how long it would take for her to forgive and forget. She knew her friends had been way more merciful in their forgiveness than she had deserved.

Caroline bit the inside of her lip, deciding a new topic of conversation was in order as their currents topics had gotten too heavy in the recent moments. Clearing her throat, "Well, since Elena is busy playing suck-face with Damon, did you want to come watch movies with my mom and me tonight?"

Bonnie giggled at her friend's obvious distaste at the idea of Elena and Damon together. "Yeah, sure. I have a few things I need to do, but I'll catch up with you later, ok?" She was standing up now and gathering her bag.

"Great!" Caroline said, but made no move to stand or leave.

"You just going to sit here?" Bonnie asked pushing her chair in, willing her voice casual so as not to make her friend accuse her of "keeping tabs" on her.

"Yeah. Thought maybe I'd flash the hybrid," the blonde vampire said and laughed as she watched the hybrid in question tear his not-so-convert glance away from the duo at their table.

Bonnie glanced over her shoulder in the direction of Caroline's stare, and rolled her eyes, laughing with her friend. "Bye, Caroline," she said with a wave, and left the blonde seated alone.

Caroline waved to her friend's retreating figure, and when she glanced back to the hybrid, he was gone.

The absence of Klaus' henchman left the blonde vampire with a pang of loneliness in her heart, which in turn frustrated her. At first it had annoyed her when she realized he was keeping tabs on her, but she hadn't really expected anything less from the controlling Original. She first noticed the presence of his spies a couple of weeks after Klaus had left for New Orleans, but with their own cross-country tour, Caroline hadn't seen-or at least hadn't noticed-any until they had returned last week.

She briefly wondered if Klaus had known about her trip, or if he had been anxious when his stalker hybrids had said they weren't able to locate her. Poor hybrid, she thought, imagining Klaus' more than likely volatile reaction if he hadn't know her exact whereabouts, thus not knowing if she was truly safe. But, that probably wasn't the case she decided. If Klaus had been truly upset, or thought something had happened to her, he would have shown up, right? Maybe these months apart really had made him realize he didn't need her.

Recalling Rebekah's letter again, she remembered her parting lines:

_I assure you, he will never stop loving you. I know Nik, and once he sets his sights on something, once he vows something, he means it-always and forever._

It was true. He had promised to always look out for her, protect her. And he was keeping that promise even now by means of his hybrid spies. He only had very few of these hybrids left, too: very few who had chosen to stay with him on their own free will. But, Klaus had also promised to stay away from her, and he was doing a damn good job of that, too.

Caroline huffed a sigh and got up from the table. Making her way to her car, she spotted the sired spy once again by a tree several yards away. She rolled her eyes and waved to him and he nervously shuffled around before stalking off in the opposite direction. With a bemused laugh, the blonde vampire got in her car, heading home to spend some quality time with her mother.

But, first, she had one more thing to do. Spinning her car out into the light afternoon traffic, she blared her horn and watched the startled pedestrian scramble to get out of her way.

* * *

Bonnie sat cross-legged on her floor, a single white unlit candle in front of her. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply several times. Each breath became deeper, released slower. She lifted her hands, and they hovered over the candle. Concentrating all her will on lighting the candle, she felt the slight tremors of magic tingle underneath her skin.

She focused harder now, her eyes squeezed shut. After a few long moments, she opened her eyes, her fingers flexing over the candle.

A spark.

Bonnie's face broke into a wide grin. A spark. It was more than she had done since she woke up from the Other Side the last time, and she was practically giddy.

A drop.

Her grin faded as she looked down and saw a drop of blood staining the white taper. Reaching up, she wiped at her nose and examining her fingers, realized it was coming from her, though there had never really been any doubt. Tears pricked at her eyes and she lay back on the cool wood floor.

A simple fire spell like that shouldn't have caused such a reaction from the witch. And so, Bonnie knew what she had to do. She had found a coven with her mother's help using her connections- the Thibodeaux Witches in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana had agreed to help Bonnie get her powers back however they could. Actually, her mother said they had curiously reached out to her. Apparently one of them is a seer and knew Bonnie had been having some trouble with her powers. Clairvoyant witches weren't exactly unheard of, but were highly uncommon and most of them dabbled in Voodoo. At this point, though, Bonnie was willing to take whatever help she could get.

She wanted to leave as soon as possible, but unlike last summer, she didn't want to-didn't need to- be so secretive with what she was planning. She decided that she would tell Caroline and Elena tomorrow. If she could get her powers back, she would at least feel somewhat whole again. She would deal with the piece of her heart that was missing since her fallout with Jeremy later, in his time.

Wiping the tears that had managed to fall from her eyes, leaving damp trails on her cheeks, she sat up and sighed shakily. Disappointed by her inability to perform the spell, she knocked the candle over with a frustrated groan and watched it roll a few feet away, leaving small trails of opaque wax.

"Is this a bad time?"

Bonnie's heart seized at the sound of the voice coming from behind her. It wasn't the voice so much as the owner of the voice that caused her shock. She stood and turned quickly.

"Jeremy? Hey, no. Uh, what are you…what are you doing here?" She asked, both confused and excited by the sight of the younger Gilbert. 

He grinned slightly. "I ran into Caroline. Actually, she almost ran into me. Like, literally," he laughed and looked down at the floor, kicking invisible rocks with his shoe.

Bonnie's brow furrowed. "What?" 

"I was walking to the Grill to meet Matt, and Caroline saw me. She cut me off with her car when I was crossing the street. She gave me quite the stern talking to," Jeremy said lifting his eyes to meet Bonnie's finally.

The witch rolled her eyes and released a breathy laugh. "That sounds like Caroline."

"Look, Bonnie. I know that I've been pretty much ignoring you since everything last summer finally ended. But-"

"No, Jer. It's ok, you don't owe me any explanations. I completely understand, and-"

"I'm sorry, Bonnie." He said, his voice strong, but full of emotion.

She met his kind eyes, his piercing gaze, and swallowed hard, her eyes welling with tears again. After not having spoken in months, little more than stilted small talk, she was just so relieved to have him speaking to her again, their conversations weren't just one-sided anymore.

"What? No, Jeremy, you don't owe me an apology. You have every right to hate me after what I did."

He shook his head. "I could never hate you, Bonnie. I didn't know if I could be close to you again because... it's just the thought of losing you-really losing you-it was a lot to handle. And that's a huge understatement, I know. But, I realized something over the last few months," he said, stepping closer to the young witch, resting his hands on her shoulders. "What it all comes down to is...I was mostly afraid of just how much I love you, Bonnie."

She laughed and grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him even closer. "So you love me then?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I do," he said smiling down brightly at her own smiling face.

Both of them could sense the holes that had been carved out of their hearts after last summer, finally reshaping, filling in. Those pieces that had gone missing after all the half-truths and spells, after all the death, were finally making their way back to their rightful positions. 

"And it took Caroline nearly running you over for you to realize this?" Bonnie asked, narrowing her eyes playfully.

Jeremy laughed now, and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I guess it did," he said leaning down and placing a soft kiss on the corner of her mouth.

She inhaled and closed her eyes. "Remind me to thank her for that," she whispered before meeting his lips with her own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this story is going to be way more Klaroline-centric, and before anyone asks- No, this is not a crossover story, not really. I honestly (sorry to say!) don't know enough about all the Originals show storylines. So, this will be a completely original (as much as possible anyway) story based on the timing/storyline I started with in Real or Not Real. Plus there will be some new characters that I'm really excited about introducing as the story develops. This chapter was packed full, I know, but I wanted to get a quick start and bottle up Mystic Falls business since the greatest part of this story takes place in New Orleans.
> 
> If you feel so inclined, please leave a comment or a review! (please be kind!) But I love getting feed back-it helps me write faster and update quicker!
> 
> I know some things were left unanswered, but they will be addressed later on in the story. Also, I googled and researched (youtube has some excellent accent videos) some typical Cajun terms and vernacular since some of my characters will be Cajun. Did y'all know there's a difference between Cajun and Creole? Anyway!
> 
> While I wrote, I listened to:
> 
> Intro by the xx (prologue)
> 
> Always in my head by Coldplay
> 
> Fun by Coldplay
> 
> Uranus by sleeping at last
> 
> I don't own TVD or any of the mentioned music. Just the story and my mistakes. Thanks for reading! Until next time...


	3. ii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DOUBLE CHAPTER UPDATE 
> 
> Ok, so, this story is getting off to a bit of a slow start but I really wanted to get all my ideas in a row before I just started getting into the super important stuff. Please stick with me, I really don't think you'll be disappointed with where I'm taking this story.
> 
> Anyway, I'll keep most of my babbling for the end of chapter 3 (the next chapter). Please enjoy...

"The Bennett Witch is coming," proclaimed the grey haired woman, her wrinkles thrown in deeper relief by the soft candlelight.

"How do you know for certain?" Asked the wiry brunette, known as Belle, who stood posted up against the doorframe, her arms folded across her chest.

The older woman narrowed her eyes at the younger woman. "I can see it," she hissed.

Another brunette sitting in the corner of the room, hunched over a bowl of various herbs and stones, scoffed. "Her mama called to let us know," she said, rolling her eyes at the elderly witch.

Belle walked into the room now and kissed the top of the elder's head. "Clea, we shouldn't joke on Mere' Perrine's behalf," she said lightly chided, smiling at her younger sister over their mother's head. Clea ducked her head over her herbs to hide her own smile.

It was no secret amongst the three women that Perrine's powers had decreased over the years, and her clairvoyant knack had been patchy at best recently. Though it wasn't  _really_  funny, but they were trying to keep their anxieties down as best they could for the forthcoming tasks.

"You two think I don' see you, but I got eyes in the back of my head," she said, swatting at her eldest daughter, eliciting light laughter from all three of the Thibodeaux witches.

"Mere', does you crystal ball say when she's to arrive?" Belle asked, resting her hands on her mother's shoulders, and shooting Clea a look that told her to keep quiet.

Perrine focused on her flickering candle for a few long seconds and closed her eyes. Her breathing growing heavier, Belle wondered momentarily if she had fallen asleep. But her eyes opened and she blinked a few times before speaking. "At the apex of the waning crescent," she whispered mysteriously.

Both daughters rolled their eyes at their mother's flare for the dramatic. But Perrine didn't notice their teasing this time.

"Five days time, " she concluded solemnly.

Belle looked over to Clea for affirmation. Clea nodded. "Her mother said she would leave this coming Friday. That'll put her here by early Sunday morn probably, if she makes a stop along the way."

"Five days," Belle mused, to no one in particular.

Perrine looked up at her and smirked. "Didn't I just say that, shoushou?"

"Yes, Mere', you still have it in ya. No need to be smug," Her daughter responded, giving her shoulders a light squeeze. "We have much to prepare." She looked to her sister now. "How are we coming along with the talisman?"

"It's…it's coming," Clea said nervously without meeting her sister's stare trained on her now.

"It's coming? What are you doing over there, shou? Making a roux?" Perrine quipped over her shoulder.

Clea shot a half-hearted glare at the back of her mother's head.

"Speaking of roux, I've got to get started on mine," Belle said, her eyes narrowed in thought, as she headed toward the door. As if by order, the two remaining women stood from their posts in the small parlor and followed Belle into the kitchen.

The two daughters along with their mother, the last remaining three Thibodeaux witches, had been raised with the belief that their magic would be no good if they were doing it on an empty stomach. Food was worth just as much energy as a full moon or a mystical talisman to these women-it fed the body as much as the soul, thus ensuring their magic was at its most powerful.

The time had come when they would need to be at their most powerful.

* * *

"Wow, Caroline, you think we have enough provisions for the night?" Elena asked laughing as the three friends stood over the expansive spread set out on the Forbes kitchen island.

"I think I covered it all," Caroline said with a self-satisfied smirk.

Grabbing her pint of ice cream in one hand, and the bowl of chips in the other, Elena and Bonnie carried what was left and followed her into the Forbes' cozy living room.

"Before we start the movie, there's something I need to tell you guys," Bonnie said, sitting on the floor pallet cross-legged, the two vampires joining her.

"What's up, Bonnie?" Elena asked, her eyebrows furrowed as she tossed a handful of gummy bears in her mouth.

"Elena already knows you made up with Jeremy. I told her," Caroline said taking a bite of ice cream.

Bonnie gave her neurotic, organized, and seriously blunt blonde friend a sideways glance and sighed. Turning to Elena, "I was going to tell you. It just happened and Caroline only knows because she was kind of the  _driving_  force behind it," she offered apologetically.

The two vampires laughed at Bonnie's use of the word "driving." Elena shook her head. "Bonnie, please. I'm just glad you two are finally talking again," she rubbed her friend's arm gently. "Is that it? Is that what you wanted to talk about?"

Bonnie chewed her bottom lip for a long second. "No, actually. So, you know I've been researching covens who can help me with my little magic-loss problem?"

The brunette and the blonde nodded at their friend waiting for her to continue. "Well, my mom and I found a coven that says they can help."

Caroline smiled broadly. "Bonnie, that's great!"

"Yeah, Bonnie, that's really awesome. Where are they?" Elena chimed in.

Bonnie cleared her throat. "They're in Louisiana. Terrebonne Parish?" She swallowed hard before adding, "Right outside of New Orleans."

Elena's smile faltered slightly as she glanced at Caroline from the corner of her eye. Bonnie peeked over at Caroline who was suddenly very intent on getting every last drop of ice cream out of the carton. She didn't look up when she asked, "Oh? So when do you leave?"

Bonnie hesitated for a moment trying to gauge her friend's deceptively calm reaction. She was either totally fine with the information, or was about to go into meltdown mode. "Friday…"

"How long are you going for?" Elena asked, her own eyes still trained on their blonde friend who had yet to meet their eyes.

"I'm not sure exactly. Couple of weeks, hopefully no longer than a month. They seem really confident that they can help me. But, I, uh…"

Caroline was scraping the sides of the carton loudly, forcefully now, the spoon making indentions in the cardboard, and would more than likely break through the flimsy carton soon.

"Caroline," Bonnie said softly. "Sweetie, I think you finished it all," she said, prying the creased carton out of Caroline's hands.

Caroline sighed and closed her eyes before opening them to finally meet her friend's gaze. "That's really great, Bonnie. Seriously. I hope they can help you." Her voice was attempting light, but there was a definite tremor of emotion underneath her false bravado. "You know what? We forgot the donut holes. I'll go grab those."

Bonnie and Elena both reached out in synch and grabbed Caroline by her forearms, dragging her back down on the pallet. Caroline huffed a sigh. "What?"

"Caroline, it's ok if you're upset. Talk to us!" Elena pleaded, releasing her grip on the blonde's arm.

"I'm not upset. I just…" she closed her eyes again and grimaced. "Ok! I'm upset!" After a beat, "No, you know, I'm pissed off!"

She looked at her friends. "This just sucks, you know? It should be simple: I love him, he loves me. But, it's not simple, and it's not enough. Like, why isn't it enough, though? Why does he have to be  _so_  concerned with my safety? I'm strong, damnit! I dug myself out of my own grave last summer!"

"And, let's not forget you managed to convince  _Klaus,_ of all people, to form an alliance. And keep it! That has to count for something, too, right?" Elena interjected, a subtle awe in her voice directed at her brave best friend.

Caroline nodded her gratitude. "I can hold my own. Why can't he stop being such an idiot and see that being together doesn't make me any more vulnerable than it makes him weak?" Caroline covered her face with her palms and let out a long, harsh sigh signaling the end of her rant.

Elena and Bonnie were silent, neither knowing what to say, or what they could say. Except, Bonnie thought maybe she knew.

She squared her shoulders toward her friend and leaned forward slightly, a thought having occurred to her in that moment: Caroline had said she had things to take care of in Mystic Falls, but since they had returned, she hadn't said anything about  _what_  exactly she had to take care of. Bonnie thought maybe it was just another form of denial, of deflection on her friend's part regarding the whole Klaus ordeal. So, she made a decision, and hoped Caroline would think it was as great an idea as she did.

"Come with me, Care." When she was answered with silence, she added, "To Louisiana."

Elena glanced at Bonnie with a concerned expression, but she added, "Yeah, Care, maybe it would be good for you to ask Klaus those things."

There was another long moment of silence. Finally, Caroline shuddered a sigh from behind her hands. "Ok," she said, her reply muffled by her hands, but it was understood by her friends.

Elena and Bonnie smiled in unison. Caroline let her hands drop from her face and looked at each friend, her lower lip turned downward in a really pathetic pout. Bonnie reached forward and clasped her hand. "Yeah? You'll really go with me?"

Caroline placed a hand over Bonnie's and nodded. She looked at Elena now. "What do you say, girls trip round two?" Her voice was small, but it sounded hopeful.

Elena bit her lip. "I…I don't think I can, guys. I was gone for so long, and I really think I should be here for Jeremy this semester. He really didn't do so hot last fall, you know, missing so much and all," She looked at her friends, sincerely apologetic. Where they would normally make a jab about her wanting to stay for Damon, they knew she was truly concerned with her brother's well-being and wanted him to succeed in his education. They were all the family each other had left.

"We understand, 'Lena," Bonnie said with a soft smile. Caroline nodded. Elena placed her hand over Caroline's that was resting on Bonnie's. Bonnie placed her other hand on top of Elena's. The three giggled, and sat like this for a long while, completely forgetting the movies and the rest of the ice cream.

Caroline leaned her head onto Bonnie's shoulder, and Elena wrapped her free arm around Bonnie's shoulders; the three making their own version of a friendship circle. Their bond was strong, and wouldn't be broken- not when they were together, and not even when they were apart.

* * *

_Thursday_

Bonnie was staying the night at the Forbes home again, having her car already packed and ready to go, and she and Caroline would head out the following early afternoon.

The two said their goodbyes to Elena with the promise of staying in touch every hour with details about their trip. She wanted selfies and proof that the two were enjoying themselves in between Bonnie's meetings with the Thibodeaux witches.

The three hugged, and Elena left with slight reluctance. Bonnie yawned as they waved to Elena's retreating car, and she and Caroline headed back up the walkway.

"I think I'm going to turn in," Bonnie said, stifling another yawn. She made to go inside, but Caroline was still standing on the wide front porch, her hands in her back pockets, looking out toward the street.

"You coming in, Care?" Bonnie asked, looking around slightly to see the source of Caroline's attention.

"I'll be in in a little while," she said absently before turning slightly to look at her friend. "I'm not tired yet. My mind is all over the place, you know?"

Bonnie smiled softly, sympathetically. "Caroline, we don't have to see him if you don't want to."

Caroline shook her head and released a breath. "No, it's not that. I'm just thinking about my mom and stuff. Leaving her here, leaving everyone here."

Bonnie's brows furrowed in confusion. "Care, we were gone for three months. Your mom was totally fine. What's the difference now?"

"I know. It's stupid, I just…" She thought about how when they had been gone on their girl's trip, they hadn't gone anywhere near New Orleans or anywhere Caroline had a direct memory tied to Klaus. She hadn't thought there might be a reason not to come back. She shrugged and laughed weakly. "I guess I just missed her."

Bonnie came up and hugged her friend's shoulders from behind. "She'll be fine, Caroline. Damon, Elena, everyone-they're going to watch over her. And we won't be gone forever."

Caroline squeezed her friend's arms gratefully. "Yeah, you're right. Just last minute jitters." With another small laugh she added, "Again."

Bonnie went inside, and Caroline leaned against the post, her head resting against the whitewashed wood. She noticed a subtle movement in the tall hedges across the street and squinted while her vampire sight focused. She huffed a sigh and pushed herself off the post.

Walking with determined purpose across the grass and the street, she flashed to close the rest of the distance between herself and the lurker, but he had had a head start and was already ducking into the trees again.

She thought about chasing him down, but instead staid her ground. Crossing her arms over her chest she called out, knowing he would at least hear her, "I'm still faster than you, you know. And you really  _suck_  at this spying thing."

She breathed a sigh, and turned back to her house, suddenly very tired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> music:
> 
> the witches:black mambo by glass animals
> 
> sleepover:clearest blue by chvrches
> 
> porch:O by coldplay


	4. iii

Anguished shrieks echoed throughout the underground wing of the Mikaelson compound, and although there were several witnesses down below, none batted an eye at the sounds of torture coming from the enclosed cell.

Klaus plucked a crisp white handkerchief from the inner pocket of his jacket and carefully wiped the blood from his hands. A brawny Hybrid with jet black wavy hair stood posted up against the back wall, his hands crossed over his chest, looking on at the sight impassively.

"Well, pup," Klaus began, tossing the red blotted handkerchief aside. "I've severed several of your major arteries and I expect you will bleed out here on my basement floors within the next few moments," Klaus said coolly, his eyes flinty-hard coming to focus on the young man slumped at his feet. "I can heal you, of course, but it seems as though you  _prefer_  my methods of torture over telling me what you were doing attacking two of my vampires last night."

He knelt down in front of the man, a werewolf in human form, who was shaking, seemingly slipping into shock. "Did you want to tell me now?" Klaus whispered, deceptively calm-deceptively patient.

The werewolf looked at him, his eyes flashing between deep brown into golden yellow, not from rage but from extreme pain. Klaus tilted his head to the side, the ghost of an expectant smile on his lips.

"Kill…me." His words garbled with his own blood.

Klaus sighed and his eyes rolled heavenward. "Very well then. It was your call. Consequently, your mistake, as well." He turned to his hybrid now. "Louie?"

The hybrid flashed over to Klaus and looked at both his master and the mutilated werewolf with hungry expectancy. "Let him heal for a while and then rough him up as you see fit."

Louie looked confused and hesitated to move, his eyes darting wildly. "Um...so, you don't want me to kill him?"

"If I wanted you to kill him, I would have said so. Beat him within an inch of his life, but do not kill him." Klaus replied, his voice a rough command. "Death would be merciful," he whispered.

Louie nodded and looked down at the prisoner once again, his lips curving upward in a crude version of a smile.

Klaus rose and sauntered out of the room, letting the door slam behind him, leaving the treasonous werewolf with his most capable hybrid.

His words were true-death would have been merciful. As it was, he needed to speak with Elijah about this current situation and keeping the tortured one in question alive was necessary for the time being.

He felt no satisfaction in the resolution of this particular situation, though. Normally he would be the one administering the torturous punishment to anyone who dared defy him. Maybe he was going soft. Or, maybe torture wasn't nearly as enjoyable to him as it had been just a few short years ago. Stepping inside the basement floor elevator, he listened to the sounds of shrieking mingle with the dreadful instrumental elevator music. In that moment, he wasn't sure which sound he hated more.

* * *

They'd been on the road for nearly five hours, Bonnie driving the first leg since she had gotten the most sleep the night before.

The two had taken turns playing their personal playlists on their phones synched through Bluetooth on Bonnie's car's stereo. They had similar tastes in music so it wasn't uncommon for them to hear the same song twice in the span of an hour. Neither minded, though. Their trip had gotten off to a smooth start, and both of their anxieties were low driving on the interstate and the smaller back roads. Although they were missing the third link to complete their trio, Elena, they were both excited to be driving on the open road again. Although getting Caroline to agree to come had been no small feat. Bonnie glanced at the blonde vampire with a wry smile playing upon her lips.

_{"This is stupid. I'm not going." Caroline huffed, tossing her empty suitcase onto the floor with a loud thud. "What was I thinking?! I told him to leave me alone and what? I'm just going to barge in and be all, Hey Klaus, how's it going?"_

_Caroline groaned and sat on the edge of her bed, face buried in her hands. She raked her fingers through her hair and released a shaky sigh._

_Bonnie sat back on the bed, witnessing her friend's meltdown before they'd even left the Forbes house. It was Thursday evening and Bonnie had agreed to help the blonde vampire pack. It seemed her nerves made it inordinately difficult to decide whether three pairs of dark wash skinny jeans were enough, in addition to the three other pairs of varying colors of denim. No, Caroline was stalling._

_"Care, what is it you're afraid of?" Bonnie asked softly, tentatively, folding a pair of cute cut-off shorts. She made mental note to ask if she could borrow these sometime._

_Caroline whipped her head around to look at her best friend incredulously. "I'm not afraid of anything, I-"_

_Bonnie cut her off with a stern glare._

_The vampire grumbled. "Just, what if he doesn't want me anymore? I mean, I did tell him to stay out of my life, and as far as Klaus goes, that's pretty insulting, and-"_

_"He has his little spies following you around town, Caroline. So, technically, he's not staying out of your life. I think that also proves the point that he still obviously cares."_

_Caroline looked down at her fingers, chewing the inside of her lower lip. Bonnie inhaled deeply, steeling herself, before she dared broach the next question._

_"Are you afraid to admit you were wrong?"_

_She knew it would be a monumental admission for her controlled best friend, but that didn't make it any less of a viable reality._ Caroline Forbes wrong? Never! _...except, maybe she had been this time._

_Caroline once again whipped her head around to stare mouth agape at the witch. "Excuse me? I was not wrong. Wrong about what?" She was looking at her friend accusingly, bemused._

_Elena walked into the room now having let herself in. "About telling Klaus to leave and stay out of your life," she said softly._

_Caroline swallowed hard, her gaze volleying between her two friends. "I wasn't wrong. It was the right thing to do. He thinks if we're together my life will constantly be in danger because of all the enemies he's made. Which, newsflash, that's a lot. No, I wasn't wrong, and I stand by my belief that the timing just isn't right. There are so many things I want accomplish before…"_

_She still wasn't prepared to tell them that when she decides to be with Klaus, it would be forever. She had made that decision when she left the empty art studio that afternoon six months ago. And then there was the not so small fact that she wanted to be sure the Original Hybrid even felt the same still. Yes, Rebekah had ensured her that Klaus would always love her, but she needed to hear it straight from the Hybrid's mouth. Because Always and Forever was a really, really long time. The last time they were together, he hadn't argued or insisted upon his undying devotion. He had simply acquiesced and left her alone._

_Her friends exchanged a glance, but they didn't question her any further._

_"Ok, well, then come with me and forget seeing Klaus. We'll shop on Canal Street, and eat beignets until we're completely stuffed, and then we'll eat some more. We can take one of those Bayou swamp tours-"_

_"Oh and one of those plantation tours, too!" Elena chimed in, her eyes dancing._

_Caroline was already smiling again, though it didn't touch her eyes yet. "Ok. But, how far outside of New Orleans is Terrebonne Parish again?"_

_"It's about ten miles or so, I think?"_

_"Great! That's plenty of space between us and…Klaus. We might not even have to go into New Orleans at all," Caroline said, her spirits obviously lifted._

_She got up to start packing finally, although she was mostly just throwing a random selection of tops from her closet into her bag in a very un-Caroline like fashion. Her friends watching this exchanged another knowing glance. She wasn't ok yet, but ever the controlled, brave Caroline, she was going to make one hell of an effort at putting on a mask of confidence._

_Two hours later, Caroline had completely packed roughly two months worth of clothing into three bags, including toiletries and almost every pair of shoes she owned, and a small rolling cooler which was stocked with enough blood to last about a month.}_

After a while of companionable silence, Caroline twisted in her seat, one leg tucked beneath her, to face Bonnie.

"So, what do we know about these Thibodeaux witches?"

Bonnie pondered for a moment. "Well…not much really, to be honest."

Caroline, ever the planner, looked at her with wide eyes, but said nothing for a moment. She couldn't castigate her friend too badly. She hadn't thought to ask until now. "Um…so how much exactly?"

Bonnie glanced at her friend next to her and then back to focus on the road. "Well, they're a small coven-only three witches. They're one of the oldest covens in the area, but their numbers have dwindled over the years, I guess. I take it they'll fill me in on their history once I meet them."

Caroline chewed on this information, although really it wasn't of much consequence to her. At this point she was just mainly curious. Except it would be nice to know what they're walking into. "So, what will they think of you bringing your vampire bestie with you?" Caroline asked lightly.

Bonnie shifted slightly in her seat, chewing her bottom lip, and Caroline narrowed her eyes, knowing Bonnie had left out a detail or two. "Bonnie Bennett."

"Yes?"

Caroline huffed in frustration at her friend's evasiveness, and Bonnie sighed in submission. "They probably shouldn't know," she said slowly, glancing at her friend out of the corner of her eye.

Caroline couldn't say she was really surprised by this, but she also wasn't really sure how to respond, either. She opted to let Bonnie fill the silence.

"It's just, you know. Witches and vampires aren't usually…they don't normally…"

"Fraternize?" Caroline laughed but Bonnie's silence was enough confirmation. "Ok, so, I'll just keep myself busy when you're with the witches. No big deal."

Bonnie bit her lip. "You sure?"

"Yes. I was serious when I said you and Elena didn't have to keep watch over me. Klaus has his hybrids for that remember?" she asked, a verbal eye roll evident in her tone. She wondered if his hybrids had even known that she'd left Mystic Falls, if Klaus knew.

"You getting tired? I'll drive for a while," Caroline offered, but stifled a yawn.

She had thought she would doze off, but her mind had been too busy racing with the idea, and much to her denial, excitement, of being in such close proximity to Klaus in the very near future. Even though she was going to try her damndest to avoid seeing him.

Bonnie laughed. "It's late. Why don't we stop and get something to eat, maybe rest for a little while and finish out the last leg in the morning?"

Caroline nodded, letting her head rest against the back of her seat. "Ok by me," she said, letting her eyes focus out her window at the tree-lined roads passing by.

After getting a late start on Saturday, and making several stops to take silly tourist pictures to send to Elena, the two arrived in Terrebonne Parish Sunday morning half past midnight under the waning crescent moon shining brightly overhead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I know there was a lot of fluff, but I also wanted to slowly introduce the coming threats for our gang.
> 
> Just to clarify something in case it wasn't as obvious as I thought it was in my mind:
> 
> Caroline basically decided at the end of Real or Not Real that she would be with Klaus, she wouldn't give up on him. But, since Klaus' life has relocated him to New Orleans "indefinitely", she would essentially have to go there. But, we know Caroline and she wants to achieve some personal goals before she just runs off to New Orleans to assimilate herself into Klaus' life there. (Sound familiar? I'm basically going to give myself and y'all hopefully the Klaroline wish fulfillment that we wanted from TVD series because it's something I want to see!) That's why she's so nervous about going there and seeing him/talking to him-she wants to be with him & also wants to make a life for herself, too. Of course, she thinks she can't make a life for herself if she's with him there. Is she wrong? Welllll...
> 
> Ok, so now the girls are finally in Louisiana. Yay! And now we can begin to move forward at a faster pace. Just a little hint, I started writing the reunion chapter for Klaroline, which I hope y'all are eagerly waiting for! I know I am! I wish I could just rush right into it, but I'm trying to make it realistic.
> 
> I'd really love to know how y'all think this story is going to go, or if you're feeling the angsty angst of Klaroline's reunion. And of course, also, what's going to happen with those witches and whatnot. 
> 
> Also, the parts in italics are memories or flashbacks, fyi
> 
> Music:
> 
> torture: the antidote by st. vincent
> 
> the drive: sedona by houndmouth


	5. iv

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will be fast-paced and FULL. Hopefully everyone is awaiting the Klaroline reunion, so... No spoilers, I'll save my babbling for the end notes. Enjoy...

The two Original brothers sat facing one another in matching leather chairs in Klaus' private studio, decanters of wine and bourbon half-empty sitting on the small table between them.

"We have an alliance with Marcel, thus ensuring the vampires in New Orleans are safe to exist as they please, relatively speaking. The werewolves are completely outnumbered. And yet this is the third attack on vampires we've had in a month." Elijah stated, tapping his fingers against his glass of wine. His face was calm, but there was a tightness around his eyes and jaw that suggested he was feeling anything but.

Klaus had just returned from the underground wing and told him the news about the werewolf that his hybrids had managed to catch last night. The werewolf had been close enough to the New Orleans territory lines that the Hybrids had jumped him in the process of attacking two vampires. A similar occurrence had happened a few weeks prior, but the werewolf had escaped. Both times, the vampires healed from their wounds, but the fact remained: a werewolf in human form had in fact, attacked them.

Klaus inhaled and took a deep pull from his glass of scotch. "For the last six months I have rebuilt trusts, made peace with the various supernatural species here." Elijah gave him a pointed stare, and Klaus smirked before continuing.

"Well, in the sense that vampires can now roam freely without interference from the witches. The witches have agreed not to practice magic within the parameters of the city. Marcel's previous reign ensured as much. And while under our reign we no longer actively seek out practicing covens, there are no longer any covens within the city walls anyhow. Besides a great number of palm-reading soothsayers down on the Square, of course, but what consequence are they to us? But, now the wolves…"

Elijah considered everything his brother said for a moment. He had been his brother's counsel of sorts, advising him on various matters, but otherwise putting his complete trust in Klaus and allowing him to do things on his own accord. Having secured the city back from Marcel, making peace with the former leader, the vampires had all coexisted quite well together. They had ensured the witches would be safe from death so long as they didn't interfere, and the witches even seemed comfortable with that treaty of sorts. Werewolves preferred being secluded in the wild anyway, so there was never cause for great concern on that front. And yet, here they were. They had made an oversight in not seeing the werewolves as more of a plausible threat.

"We never thought the werewolves would enter the city limits." Elijah said finally, looking out the window at the lights coming on across the river, the sunlight beginning to wane, the sky a brilliant orange just on the horizon.

"Would be suicide, would it not?" Klaus asked sardonically.

"Perhaps," Elijah waxed doubtfully. "We know there are werewolves in the surrounding area, but they've plenty to hunt on in the outskirts of the city and beyond, and even then it's only during the full moon. And yet, they are closing in on the city limits-attacking vampires in their  _human_  form, without a full moon," Elijah stated calmly, factually.

Klaus nodded and ran a hand through his hair. "We'll need to meet with Marcel as this is a vampire problem. If this is a witch issue, he'll be of little to no use. They hate him, but are at least amenable with me. The werewolves are my problem, for obvious reasons."

"Do you believe the witches are behind this somehow?" Elijah asked curiously, not having jumped to that conclusion and a bit surprised if Klaus had, but a knock on the door turned both his and Klaus' attention to the interruption.

"Excuse me, Klaus?" A hesitant voice called from outside the door.

"What is it?" Klaus barked, and a shifty-eyed hybrid, Gus, entered the room.

"Um, a message from Eli, sir. Apparently Miss Forbes has left Mystic Falls again."

Klaus who had initially been visibly annoyed at the interruption, was now very professional in his response. "And I assume this time we were able to secure the location of her trip before her departure?"

Klaus couldn't help but subtly remind the hybrid that they had dropped the ball last time, and he had to do some serious digging to figure out where Caroline and her friends were heading last fall. It's easy to track flights, but tracking a car requires significantly more probing. Klaus had almost every hybrid he had left looking for any traces of them, when a tip finally came that they had checked into a hotel in Nashville. Still, the few days in which her location was unknown had resulted in an extremely temperamental Original Hybrid.

Gus looked down at his feet. "She's in New Orleans, sir."

Klaus said nothing, and Gus held his breath. The only sound in the room was Elijah at the bar pouring his brother a very stiff drink.

* * *

Klaus walked into the dimly lit, albeit lively bar. He preferred the bars off the main streets, the less flashy holes-in-the-wall to the garish, neon Bourbon Street establishments.

He made his way over to the bar and sat down at the end, looking around the small space where people were throwing darts in one corner, most listening to a live bluegrass band on the small rectangular stage. He examined every person there, his eyes darting from one to the next.

The crowd here was mostly locals, save for a few low-key tourists. The bartender set a glass of bourbon in front of the Original, Klaus having compelled him a few weeks back to do so. From out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of silky blonde hair, and felt his undead heart constrict with anticipation.

* * *

"Buy you a drink, sweetheart?"

Caroline froze momentarily at the familiar endearment. Her fingers gripped the bar with so much force, she had to be careful not to turn it to sawdust between her fingers.

Without looking up, "No. I've got one, thank you," she said, struggling to sound polite, and gesturing toward her nearly full glass of whiskey.

"Aw, come on, honey! Just one shot?"

Caroline rolled her eyes. Looking up finally to meet the eyes of the tall, scruffy, although generally good-looking-in-a-conventional-way-if-you're-into-that-sort-of-thing young man. "You know, I am really not in the mood for this right now," she said not withholding any of her typical sass this time.

He was obviously very drunk, swaying slightly on his feet and smiling like a complete fool. "Just one?" He held up two fingers.

She rolled her eyes and leaned forward, inches from his face. "You're going to take a taxi back to your hotel and tomorrow you'll think about how to properly approach a female in the future." After a breath, "Oh, and you'll drink lots of water and take an aspirin because your hangover is going to be brutal." She smiled sweetly, though baring her teeth slightly, and the drunk, probably a college aged kid, blinked from his compelled trance. She watched as he made his way through the crowd, seemingly toward the crowded DJ booth.

Caroline swallowed the rest of her drink and got up. She walked out of the noisy bar on Bourbon Street, silently wishing she had chosen to go to one of the more low-key places, as she made her way down to the waterfront a couple of blocks over.

She and Bonnie had spent the morning perusing Canal and Freret Street, fully taking advantage of the multiple cafes and boutiques there. It didn't take much convincing on Bonnie's part to get Caroline to agree to leave their nice, if a little outdated room at a bed & breakfast in Terrebonne Parish. It was hard to ignore the allure of the city beckoning just a few miles away.

After the first hour, the blonde vampire even stopped looking for signs of Klaus while walking down the streets packed with tourists. After the first hour, she didn't turn every time she heard an accented voice, or if a sun-kissed male with short blonde curls walked by. After the first hour, Caroline was enjoying herself thoroughly, and she was excited for the first time to be on the Original's stomping grounds, best friend at her side. It allowed her to imagine briefly what life could be like one day. If…

She leaned against the railing by the waterfront and sighed.  _This night was a bust,_ she thought moodily, although she hadn't really known what she had expected. Maybe if Bonnie had been with her, it would have been more fun to be hit on by randoms. But, Bonnie was busy with the Thibodeaux witches now, and Caroline was left to her own devices for the night. She would shoot her a text here soon to see how things were coming along, but for now Caroline took in the sights of the city away from the bustling nightlife.

She looked across the river, seeing the peacefully lit neighborhoods in stark juxtaposition with the lively city. One home, directly across from where she was currently, stood out in particular. While she couldn't see the total enormity of the home in the darkness, even with her vampire vision, it was obviously set far back from the road, secluded. She noted the tall iron gates enclosing the life within, the grounds were all aglow with soft lighting in all the trees. It seemed safe there, quiet. She wondered…

"All by your lonesome, sweetheart?"

Caroline bristled. She hadn't heard or even sensed anyone approach, but the voice was familiar. Too familiar, and she had a heavy feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. Her senses were going into overdrive.  _Is this_ really _happening right now?_

Turning quickly, she faced the owner of the voice, steeling herself.

"Ok, first of all, don't call me sweetheart," she began and was met with a widened pair of eyes and what he probably thought was a disarming smile. Caroline didn't take the bait despite being thoroughly confused. "What are you doing here?" She asked, hoping her voice sounded more confident than she felt in that moment, but she was met with only brusque laughter.

"You were supposed to go away," She continued though now her annoyance was steadily rising.  _Seriously, how is this happening right now?_

The drunk she recognized from the bar stopped laughing long enough to smile arrogantly. "I can't be compelled, vampire."

Caroline felt all the warning signals going off in her brain. This wasn't normal—in fact, it was impossible.  _Unless…did the townspeople drink Vervain here, too?_ She began mentally ticking off the list of creatures and persons who could resist compulsion and knew one thing for certain: he had a heartbeat.

She audibly gulped, but otherwise remained calm. "You're not a vampire," she said tersely.

"God, no," he scoffed in disgust. Caroline narrowed her eyes.

"Then what are you?" She inhaled deeply as her irritation flared, and subsequently picked up on an earthy note in the air  _nearly_  masked underneath all the top notes of cheap booze. Werewolf.

Ok, now she was just angry.  _I really don't need this right now,_ she thought. Most werewolves tended to steer clear of vampires when in their human form, but every once in a while there would be one who wanted to pick a fight just for the sheer hell of it. Werewolves were usually all brawn, not a lot of brain.

"Just interested in you," he replied smoothly, smiling wickedly.

Caroline cringed.

He lunged.

Flashing away just in time, the much-sturdier-than-she-had-realized body of the guy went careening into the guardrail where she had just been standing. He groaned on impact, but turned immediately on her to find her now standing where he had just been, her stance defensive, but eyes conveying her shock and confusion.

"Seriously? Who says stuff like that?" She asked, attempting to deflect any forthcoming advances.

"Are we gonna play then?" He said, his eyes dancing with a dark excitement. "Cute little blonde, I could have fun with you."

Obviously, her attempts hadn't worked.

He lunged again, and this time she met the force of his body with her own, knocking her shoulder into his upper ribcage, and sending him sailing backward toward the guardrail for a second time.

"Bitch! You broke half my ribs!" He bellowed, charging forward.

She met him for a second time without hesitation, but his hand shot up, catching locks of her hair in his fist. He yanked her body downward toward the concrete, her back slamming against the ground with enough force to knock any residual air out of her lungs. Still, she strained against the weight of his knee on her chest to upright herself.

"Get OFF me!" She groaned through gritted teeth. He was strong, but not being in his wolf-form would be a significant deterrent against her vampire strength.

However, once again she had misjudged, and the guy was fully snarling now and it was all Caroline could do to keep his iron jaws from taking a bite out of her face. Freeing one arm enough, Caroline brought the heel of her hand upward and connected with his nose. She heard the bones crunch and blood spattered all over her face and chest.

On top of all her fury, her bloodlust kicked in in that moment; the frenzy telling her to bleed him dry. Her eyes flashed black, her veins protruding underneath her eyes, and her fangs descended. He leaned back far enough, clutching his face, seemingly unaware that she had vamped-out, and Caroline rolled out from underneath him.

 _Ok, Caroline, time to run,_ she thought as she turned toward the commotion of the nightlife. She didn't want to bring a fight, nor a feral werewolf, around humans. As it was, she was having uncontrollable bloodlust issues right this moment, too.

She made to run toward the end of the guardrail, where she could then make it down the riverfront, and into the wooded area near the parkway bridge. She could hopefully lose, or otherwise take care of him, away from any innocents.

But she wasn't fast enough, and she felt the claws- _Wait, claws? When did he turn?_ -slice the skin on her back, dragging all the way from the base of her neck to the bottom of her spine. She screamed out in pain, as the lashes burned, searing like fire on her back. Worse than fire, the excruciating pain from the raw wounds he had inflicted felt like every nerve, every vein had razor blades passing through them.

As far as she knew he had only gotten her on her back, but the pain radiated throughout her entire body.  _What the hell?_ Spots clouded her vision as she stumbled forward, her panic rising to cataclysmic levels. Werewolf bites were fatal to a vampire, unless you had a certain Original Hybrid handy. But he hadn't bitten her. And he hadn't even been in wolf form. And yet the pain continued to steadily ravage her entire body, and she couldn't feel her vampire healing kicking in through the heavy fog of blinding pain.

She couldn't see anything, her vision fully clouded now, but she continued trying to run, feeling as though her legs were disconnected from the part of the brain that knew the phrase 'fright or flight.' A loud ringing in her ears accompanied her tunnel vision now, nearly drowning out the sound of shouting behind her. She collapsed.

* * *

Scraping. Scratching. Dry.

Hot. Searing. Fire.

Hot. Scraping. Searing. Scratching. Dry. Fire.

Hot! Scraping! Dry! Fire!

_Please, somebody help me…_

A shriek echoed throughout the eastern wing of the Mikaelson compound. While the various employees and guards of the manor were used to hearing similar screams of the like from time to time, and had been compelled or trained not to notice, there was no way to completely ignore the piercing screams. They shook every wall in the expansive manor.

Caroline heard the cries, and blinked her eyes open in her foggy stupor.  _What?_   _Who…_

She realized the screaming had been coming from her as she felt the white hot pain rack her entire body again. The bed was shaking with her convulsive trembling, and she squeezed her eyes closed again to ward off the pain. It was no use of course.

She was dying; her veins and nerves simultaneously burning and drying out. She remembered this feeling, although not to this degree of misery, from when she had been bitten by Tyler what seemed like lifetimes ago. She was dying from werewolf venom.

* * *

"Where is she!?" Klaus seethed, his words coming out choked between his teeth, jumping out of his black 1968 Aston Martin in front of the sweeping front porch. His eyes were flashing between black and yellow, as he tore up the front steps, and several hybrids followed behind, careful to give their master a wide enough berth of space in his most livid state. "I want answers NOW!"

Two vampires had happened upon the riverfront when Caroline had been attacked. They had been the ones who took down the werewolf, and found that Caroline had fallen unconscious. They soon realized the injured vampire wasn't healing from the wounds inflicted on her back, and carried both her over the bridge to the Mikaelson compound, where they were met by two hybrids.

_{"They found her by the riverfront!" Killion, one of Klaus' hybrids called out as he reached the front steps of the Mikaelson manor, carrying Caroline's limp body in his arms, where Gus was waiting, standing his nightly guard._

_Gus looked at the lifeless body that Killion held. A female vampire, face hidden by her blonde hair strewn over her face, sighed a pained gasp softly._

_"She's not dead yet," Gus said, his mind racing. This was the fourth vampire attack this month, but the first in which the vampire wasn't healing at their normal rapid rate. "Did he bite her?"_

_"No, he was still in his human form from what they told us, like all those other attacks. He seemed to have scratched her, looks like claw marks down her back," Killion said, trying to shift Caroline's body enough to prove his point to Gus. Caroline gasped again, but Gus could see now the claw marks were festering much as a werewolf bite would. His face blanched._

_Another hybrid, Lucia, came flashing up the drive now, carrying the body of the werewolf over her shoulders. "I went back for the corpse,"_ _dropping the werewolf's body to the ground with a huff. "We need to call Klaus. She's been poisoned somehow," she said nodding toward the blonde vampire._

_Gus and Killion nodded in agreement. Gus pulled his cellphone from his pocket and prepared to call the Original Hybrid._

_By now, Elijah had stepped out onto the porch having, of course, heard the commotion. A momentary look of concern, he flashed over to the trio of hybrids, quickly taking notice of the dead werewolf on the ground, and the figure Killion held in his arms._

_He watched as Gus' hand reached out to brush the hair from the sickly vampire's face. There was a collective gasp of ragged, shocked breath from the Original and the three hybrids. She was clammy, a sheen of sweat on her grey face, fading fast._

_"Dear god…" Elijah whispered.}_

"She's upstairs, sir. She's in the eastern wing. Sir, she's-"

Klaus flashed up the grand staircase that stood central in the main foyer, and headed to the right, to the expansive east wing, willing he wasn't too late.

* * *

Caroline tried to break through the dense waves of agony, tried to think about something other than her body desiccating from the inside out. She was starving, but the thought of ingesting blood made her physically ill. It was as if her body and mind were denying her the treatment, the only sustenance it knew she needed.

Her thoughts wandered to her mother, and felt tears escape her clenched eyelids. She thought of Bonnie, Elena, and Matt, Stefan, and even Damon. Visions, memories from her 18 years on earth flipping through her mind's eye like a movie in fast-forward. And then she thought of Klaus. And all at once the pain, the hunger, the sadness overwhelmed her, and she began sobbing body-racking, silent cries into her pillow.

What she wouldn't give for a hallucination right now. She hadn't gotten to that stage with Tyler's bite before Klaus had cured her; she only knew about it from hearing Elena's recount of both Rose and Damon's experiences.

{" _Where is she?!...I want answers NOW!"_

_"She's upstairs, sir. She's in the eastern wing. Sir, she's-"}_

Caroline heard the incensed voice of the Original Hybrid slip into her subconscious.  _Ask and you shall receive,_ she thought, believing herself to have slipped into the hallucination phase finally. She hummed softly to herself in appreciation, her mind doing a remarkable job of recreating his voice. Except, no matter how many months apart, centuries could pass and she would never forget his voice, the way it caressed every word with his soft lilt, even in his most enraged states. She willingly succumbed to the poison-induced delirium.

 _"I'm in here, Klaus. You have to give me your blood. I'm dying,"_ she thought to herself, her mind's eye showing her saying the words as he knelt beside her, clasping her hands in his. The feeling, though imagined, temporarily relieved the persistent scorching of her insides.

_"You cannot leave me, Caroline. Please, don't go, stay with me." Klaus said, his voice choked with emotion. "I need you to stay with me, love."_

Caroline's face winced against his emotional plea playing out in her mind, in addition to the physical pain-she didn't know which hurt worse. She wanted to comfort him, but she couldn't do anything in her current condition.  _"I want to more than anything. But you have to give me your blood first. I can't stay if you don't, Klaus."_

 _"Caroline, you're leaving me. Stay, please, don't go," Klaus whispered urgently, his voice dripping with anguish._ Even he couldn't help her-couldn't save her- in her imagination.

"Klaus…" she whispered aloud this time, her voice little more than a squeak of air.

Caroline wheezed a shaky breath. As she expelled the air raggedly, she began coughing uncontrollably, and blood smattered the white pillowcase her head lay upon. She felt her veins collapsing on themselves, felt all the fiery pain closer to her heart now. Death would be quick. And try as she might, she couldn't stop it. So, she imagined Klaus' face-her lifeline in this moment before death swooped in, before death sank its claws in for its final act-and peacefully slipped into unconsciousness.

"CAROLINE!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dun......any thoughts?! I went back and forth on the Klaroline reunion, from sweet and sappy to, well, this. Gotta keep y'all on the edge of your seats somehow
> 
> Also, the parts in italics are like flashbacks, and the last scene with Klaus speaking to Caroline in italics is part of her hallucinations. Didn't want that to confuse anyone!
> 
>  
> 
> MUSIC:
> 
> the Originals talking: atlas by coldplay
> 
> Klaus and caroline in the bar/down by the riverfront: midnight by coldplay
> 
> The werewolf appears, the werewolf attacks: ball and chain by martin Harley
> 
> The hybrids find caroline/Klaus comes home: intro by the xx
> 
> Caroline's hallucinations: afterglow chvrches
> 
> Thanks for reading! I don't own TVD or any of the music mentioned, just my story and my mistakes.

**Author's Note:**

> A very short prologue. Notes for this chapter will be at the end of chapter ii.


End file.
